Nehemiah 4
1 When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the city wall, he was very angry. He was enraged/furious. He made fun of us Jews.
Ότε δε ήκουσεν ο Σαναβαλλάτ ότι ημείς οικοδομούμεν το τείχος, ωργίσθη και ηγανάκτησε πολύ και περιεγέλασε τους Ιουδαίους.
2 While his colleagues and officials of the army troops who had come from Samaria were listening, he said, “What do these feeble/pathetic Jews [think they] are doing? Do they think that if they offer enough/many sacrifices, [their gods will hear them and enable] them to finish building the wall in one day? The stones [that were in the wall previously have been weakened by] being burned in a fire. Those stones that they are pulling out of the rubbish/garbage heaps—do they think that they can make them strong again?” [RHQ]
Και ελάλησεν ενώπιον των αδελφών αυτού και του στρατεύματος της Σαμαρείας και είπε, Τι κάμνουσιν οι άθλιοι ούτοι Ιουδαίοι; θέλουσιν αφήσει αυτούς; θέλουσι θυσιάσει; θέλουσι τελειώσει εν μιά ημέρα; θέλουσιν αναζωοποιήσει εκ των σωρών του χώματος τους λίθους, και τούτους κεκαυμένους;
3 Tobiah was [standing] beside Sanballat. He said, “That stone wall [that they are building] is very weak; so if even a fox climbed up on it, the wall would fall down!”
Πλησίον δε αυτού ήτο Τωβίας ο Αμμωνίτης· και είπε, Και αν κτίσωσιν, αλώπηξ αναβαίνουσα θέλει καθαιρέσει το λίθινον αυτών τείχος.
4 Then I prayed. I said, “Our God, hear us, because they are ridiculing us! Cause the words of their insults to fall back on them! Allow their enemies to come and capture them and force them to go to a foreign land!
Άκουσον, Θεέ ημών· διότι μυκτηριζόμεθα· και στρέψον τον ονειδισμόν αυτών κατά της κεφαλής αυτών και κάμε αυτούς να γείνωσι λάφυρον εν γη αιχμαλωσίας·
5 They are guilty; they have [said things that] caused you to be angry while the people here who are building the wall are listening; so punish them!”
και μη καλύψης την ανομίαν αυτών, και η αμαρτία αυτών ας μη εξαλειφθή απ' έμπροσθέν σου· διότι προέφεραν ονειδισμούς κατά των οικοδομούντων.
6 But after some time, we finished building the wall around the whole city, up to half as high as the first wall had been. We were able to do that because we worked very hard.
Ούτως ανωκοδομήσαμεν το τείχος· και άπαν το τείχος συνεδέθη, έως του ημίσεος αυτού· διότι ο λαός είχε καρδίαν εις το εργάζεσθαι.
7 But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the men from Arabia, the people from the Ammon [people-group] and from Ashdod [city] heard that the work on the wall was continuing and that we were filling in the gaps in the wall, they became very angry.
Αλλ' ότε Σαναβαλλάτ και Τωβίας και οι Άραβες και οι Αμμωνίται και οι Αζώτιοι ήκουσαν ότι τα τείχη της Ιερουσαλήμ επισκευάζονται, και ότι τα χαλάσματα ήρχισαν να φράττωνται, ωργίσθησαν σφόδρα·
8 They all planned to come and fight against the people of Jerusalem [MTY] and to cause trouble.
και συνώμοσαν πάντες ομού να έλθωσι να πολεμήσωσιν εναντίον της Ιερουσαλήμ, και να κάμωσιν εις αυτήν βλάβην.
9 But we prayed to our God [to protect us], and we put men [around the walls] to guard [the city] day and night.
Και ημείς προσηυχήθημεν εις τον Θεόν ημών και εστήσαμεν φυλακάς εναντίον αυτών ημέραν και νύκτα, φοβούμενοι απ' αυτών.
10 Then the people of [MTY] Judah started to say, “The men who are working [on the wall] are becoming very tired. There is a lot of [heavy] rubble that we must remove; we ourselves cannot finish the work.
Και είπεν ο Ιούδας, Η δύναμις των εργατών ητόνησε, και το χώμα είναι πολύ, και ημείς δεν δυνάμεθα να οικοδομώμεν το τείχος.
11 “Besides, our enemies are saying, ‘Before the Jews see us, we will swoop down on them and kill them and stop their work [on the wall]!’”
Οι δε εχθροί ημών είπον, Δεν θέλουσι μάθει ουδέ θέλουσιν ιδεί, εωσού έλθωμεν εις το μέσον αυτών και φονεύσωμεν αυτούς, και καταπαύσωμεν το έργον.
12 The Jews who were living near our enemies came and told us many times, “You should leave the city and go to other places, in order that your enemies will not attack you!”
Και ελθόντες οι Ιουδαίοι, οι κατοικούντες πλησίον αυτών, είπον προς ημάς δεκάκις, Προσέχετε από πάντων των τόπων, διά των οποίων επιστρέφετε προς ημάς.
13 So I put guards at the places where the wall was not very high yet and at places where there were gaps in the wall. I put guards to protect each of their family groups. I gave the guards daggers, spears, and bows [and arrows].
Όθεν έστησα εις τους χαμηλοτέρους τόπους όπισθεν του τείχους και εις τους υψηλοτέρους τόπους, έστησα τον λαόν κατά συγγενείας, με τας ρομφαίας αυτών, με τας λόγχας αυτών και με τα τόξα αυτών.
14 Then after I inspected everything, I summoned the leaders and [other] officials and [many of] the other people, and I said to them, “Do not be afraid of our enemies! Think about [what] Yahweh, who is great and glorious, [can do]! And fight to protect your friends, your families, and your homes!”
Και είδον και εσηκώθην και είπα προς τους προκρίτους και προς τους προεστώτας και προς το επίλοιπον του λαού, Μη φοβηθήτε απ' αυτών· ενθυμείσθε τον Κύριον, τον μέγαν και φοβερόν, και πολεμήσατε υπέρ των αδελφών σας, των υιών σας και των θυγατέρων σας, των γυναικών σας και των οίκων σας.
15 Our enemies heard that we knew what they were planning to do and that God had (spoiled their plans/prevented them from doing what they planned). [But we were sure that God would defend us, ] so we all started to work on the wall again.
Και ότε οι εχθροί ημών ήκουσαν ότι το πράγμα εγνώσθη εις ημάς, και διεσκέδασεν ο Θεός την βουλήν αυτών, επεστρέψαμεν πάντες ημείς εις το τείχος, έκαστος εις το έργον αυτού.
16 But after that, only half of the men who were working for me worked on the wall. The others stood there on guard, holding their spears, shields, bows [and arrows], and [wearing their] coats made of metal plates. [To encourage the people] were building the wall, their leaders stood behind them.
Και απ' εκείνης της ημέρας το ήμισυ των δούλων μου ειργάζοντο το έργον, και το ήμισυ αυτών εκράτουν τας λόγχας, τους θυρεούς και τα τόξα, τεθωρακισμένοι και οι άρχοντες ήσαν οπίσω παντός του οίκου Ιούδα.
17 Those who carried [baskets of supplies on their heads/shoulders] and those who built the wall did their work with one hand, and held a weapon with the other hand.
Οι οικοδομούντες το τείχος και οι αχθοφορούντες και οι φορτίζοντες, έκαστος διά της μιας χειρός αυτού εδούλευεν εις το έργον και διά της άλλης εκράτει το όπλον.
18 All those who were building [the wall] had a dagger fastened to their side. The man who would blow the trumpet [if our enemies attacked] was standing at my side.
Οι δε οικοδόμοι, έκαστος είχε την ρομφαίαν αυτού περιεζωσμένην εις την οσφύν αυτού και ωκοδόμει ο δε σαλπίζων εν τη σάλπιγγι ήτο πλησίον μου.
19 Then I said to the officials, the other important men, and the other people, “This wall is very long, and we are far apart from each other along the wall.
Και είπα προς τους προκρίτους και προς τους προεστώτας και προς το επίλοιπον του λαού, το έργον είναι μέγα και πλατύ· ημείς δε είμεθα διακεχωρισμένοι επί το τείχος, ο εις μακράν του άλλου·
20 If you hear the man blowing the trumpet, gather around us at that place. [Remember that] our God will fight for us!”
εις όντινα λοιπόν τόπον ακούσητε την φωνήν της σάλπιγγος, εκεί δράμετε προς ημάς· ο Θεός ημών θέλει πολεμήσει υπέρ ημών.
21 So we continued to work. Half of the men continued to hold their spears all day, from when the sun rose [in the morning] until the stars appeared [at night].
Ούτως ειργαζόμεθα το έργον· και το ήμισυ αυτών εκράτει τας λόγχας, απ' αρχής της αυγής έως της ανατολής των άστρων.
22 At that time, I also said to the people, “Tell every worker and his helper that they must stay inside Jerusalem at night. By doing that, they can guard us at night, and they can work [on the wall] during the daytime.”
Και κατά τον αυτόν καιρόν είπα προς τον λαόν, Έκαστος μετά του δούλου αυτού ας διανυκτερεύη εν τω μέσω της Ιερουσαλήμ, και ας ήναι την νύκτα φύλακες εις ημάς, και ας εργάζωνται την ημέραν.
23 During that time, none of us ever took off our clothes (OR, we wore our clothes all the time)—I and my relatives and my workers and the guards who were with me. And we had our weapons with us, in our hands.
Και ούτε εγώ, ούτε οι αδελφοί μου, ούτε οι δούλοί μου, ούτε οι άνδρες της προφυλάξεως οι ακολουθούντές με, ουδείς εξ ημών εξεδύετο τα ιμάτια αυτού· μόνον διά να λούηται εξεδύετο έκαστος.
